According to Ahrefs data, 91% of web pages worldwide get no organic traffic, but pages ranking #1 on Google receive on average over 10,000 visits per month. If you’re doing foreign trade, local services, or e-commerce, precise SEO can bring customers directly to you — but only if you spend your money in the right place.
In China, hiring a full-time SEO specialist costs about 5,000–15,000 RMB per month (depending on experience), while outsourcing is usually project-based. For example, optimizing 10 core keywords might cost anywhere from 5,000 to 30,000 RMB.
But here’s the problem: Google makes over 500 minor algorithm updates each year — can the person you hire keep up?
Stats show that 60% of businesses see disappointing ROI from SEO, often because they choose the wrong strategy (like churning out low-quality content).
Is it worth the investment? Let’s do the math: suppose you sell custom furniture, and after SEO you gain 30 more inquiries per month, close 5 deals, and make 2,000 RMB profit per deal — that’s an extra 120,000 RMB per year. But if you haven’t even checked whether your site loads faster than 3 seconds, you might just be throwing money away.
What Costs Are Involved in Hiring SEO
According to Ahrefs, around 85% of website traffic comes from search engines, but only 5% of pages make it into Google’s top 10 results.
In China, SEO salaries range from 5,000 RMB/month (junior) to 20,000 RMB/month (senior), while outsourcing firms charge by project. For example, optimizing 10 core keywords could cost 5,000–30,000 RMB.
But SEO is not just about manpower. Tools (like Ahrefs at 1,000 RMB/month), content outsourcing (per article 300–1,000 RMB), and link building (per high-quality backlink 500–5,000 RMB) all affect your budget.
SEO typically takes 3–12 months to show results. If you invest 10,000 RMB/month and see 200% traffic growth in 6 months, that’s money well spent. But with the wrong strategy (like spammy content), you could get penalized by Google and lose all your traffic.
Salary Costs
Salaries vary widely. In China, full-time SEO specialists earn 5,000–15,000 RMB/month, while in Western markets it’s USD $3,000–8,000/month.
For outsourcing, project-based fees are common, such as optimizing 50 pages for 10,000–50,000 RMB, or hourly consulting at 500–2,000 RMB/hour.
- Junior SEO (0–2 years): 5,000–8,000 RMB/month, handles basics (like Meta tags).
- Senior SEO (3–5 years): 10,000–20,000 RMB/month, builds long-term strategies (like technical SEO fixes).
- Outsourcing team: charges by keyword rankings, e.g. 1,000–5,000 RMB per keyword in top 3.
Tool Costs
SEO relies on data tools. Ahrefs (industry standard) costs about 12,000 RMB/year, SEMrush is similar. Local tools like 5118 (keyword research) cost around 3,000 RMB/year.
For basic SEO, Google Search Console (free) + Google Analytics (free) is enough. For deeper analysis (like backlink quality), paid tools are necessary.
- Must-have: Ahrefs/SEMrush (1,000 RMB/month), Screaming Frog (2,000 RMB/year).
- Extras: Grammarly (grammar check, 300 RMB/month), Canva (SEO graphics, 100 RMB/month).
- Money-saving tip: small teams can share tool accounts.
Additional Investments
The core of SEO is content and backlinks, and both cost extra. High-quality original articles (2,000 words) are 1,000–3,000 RMB each, while authority backlinks (like Forbes, BBC) can cost 5,000–20,000 RMB each.
Technical improvements (like CDN or server upgrades) may require a one-time investment of 5,000–30,000 RMB.
- Content costs: pro writers charge 2,000–5,000 RMB per 1,000 words. AI-generated with editing costs less.
- Link costs: normal blog links 100–500 RMB each, high-authority (.edu/.gov) 2,000+ RMB each.
- Tech optimization: HTTPS certificate (free–1,000 RMB/year), server upgrades (5,000+ RMB/year).
Learning SEO Yourself vs Hiring — Which Pays Off?
Ahrefs data shows that 90% of website traffic comes from the top 10 search results, but reaching that position usually requires 6–12 months of consistent optimization.
If you DIY SEO, you’ll need 3–6 months of learning (about 2 hours/day), but may miss the best timing. A professional SEO in China costs 5,000–20,000 RMB/month, but can deliver results faster (traffic up 50–200% in 3–6 months).
Since Google updates its algorithm 500+ times a year, self-learners may struggle to keep up with trends (for example, the 2023 core update affected 30% of search results).
If your budget is limited (<10k>Learning SEO Yourself
Self-learning SEO works best for small business owners with more time but a limited budget. Basic optimization (like title tags, image ALT text) can be mastered in about 1 month, but advanced skills (like JavaScript SEO, link-building strategies) require 100+ hours of structured learning.
Free resources (Google’s official docs, YouTube tutorials) are enough to get started, but paid courses (like Ahrefs Academy, $99/month) can boost efficiency by 50%.
- Time cost: 2 hours a day, after 3 months you can independently fix basic issues (like improving page speed by 30%).
- Tool cost: Free tools (Google Search Console) are enough, but paid tools (like Ahrefs, $99/month) double the efficiency.
- Results speed: It takes 6–12 months to see stable rankings, and mistakes could drop traffic by 20%-50%.
Hiring an SEO Expert
A professional SEO team can get your core keywords into the top 10 within 3 months (success rate 70%), but the cost is higher. In China, an in-house SEO costs 8,000–20,000 RMB/month, while outsourcing is usually project-based (e.g., optimizing 10 keywords costs about 10k–50k RMB).
A good team provides detailed reports (like 30% monthly traffic growth, 15% lower bounce rate), while bad providers may use black-hat methods (like spammy backlinks), risking penalties.
- Cost range: Junior consultants charge 5,000 RMB/month, while senior teams charge 20k+/month.
- Timeline: 50%-200% traffic growth in 3 months, but requires ongoing investment (at least 6–12 months).
- Risk control: Always ask for case studies (e.g., moving a keyword from #20 to #3).
A Hybrid Approach
For companies with 5k–10k RMB/month budgets, a mix works best: do the basics yourself (saving 30% costs), outsource the complex parts.
For example, handle site structure yourself (bring loading speed under 2 seconds), but outsource technical SEO (like fixing crawl errors, costing about 3k–8k RMB).
Content creation can start with AI drafts (cutting costs by 50%), then polish manually (about 200 RMB per article).
- Division of work: You handle content updates (2 posts per week, cost ~1,000 RMB/month), outsource link building (10 links/month, ~5,000 RMB).
- Tool mix: Use free tools (Google Analytics) for tracking, rely on Ahrefs ($99/month) for deep analysis.
- Best value: Overall costs are 40% lower than full outsourcing, while results come twice as fast as pure self-learning.
How to Tell if an SEO Person is Reliable
Industry surveys show that over 60% of businesses don’t see the expected ROI from SEO, with nearly half caused by choosing the wrong provider. For example, a B2B company paid 15k RMB/month to an SEO team, but after 6 months, their main keyword only moved from #35 to #28, with natural traffic up by less than 15%.
It turned out the provider just bought links from Fiverr (not indexed, under 100k links total), and never fixed the real problems: slow site speed (5.2s) and thin content.
By contrast, a reliable SEO consultant can move medium-competition keywords (search volume 1,000–5,000/month) into the top 10 within 3 months. For instance, an industrial supplier ranked “hydraulic press repair” from nowhere to #6, driving natural traffic up 220% and inquiries from 8 to 25 per month.
The key difference: do they show real data (like Google Search Console reports), do they use white-hat tactics (no link buying), and do they have a clear plan (e.g., month 1: fix technical issues, month 2: content optimization).
Don’t Buy Hype, Look at Data
A trustworthy SEO pro will show you concrete case studies, not just say “we’ve worked with industry leaders.” You should look for:
- Keyword ranking changes: e.g., “industrial valves” moved from #40 to #5, with steady traffic growth.
- Natural traffic growth curve: Google Search Console screenshots showing clicks going from 200/day to 800/day in 3 months.
- Conversion data: Inquiries growing from 10/month to 30/month, proving high-quality traffic.
Key points:
- Ask for at least 3 recent case studies, verified with Google Search Console growth curves.
- Cross-check their domains on Ahrefs/SEMrush to see if the organic trend is real.
- Be cautious of “guaranteed rankings” — Google’s algorithm changes constantly, nobody can promise 100%.
Ask About Specific Methods
If someone only says “we do on-page SEO and backlinks” without details, they’re probably not reliable. A qualified SEO should explain clearly:
- Technical optimization: e.g., crawl 500 pages with Screaming Frog, fix 30% duplicate Meta tags.
- Content strategy: Each article covers 3–5 long-tail keywords, 2x 2000-word posts per week.
- Link building: Focus on real, indexed backlinks from independent sites (50–150 RMB per link), not unindexed spammy ones.
For example, if you ask “How do we increase site authority?”, a solid answer might be:
- First optimize site speed (from 3s down to 1.5s);
- Publish 10 in-depth articles for core keywords (2000+ words each);
- Secure 500 .com backlinks from independent sites (starting at 50 RMB each).
Key points:
- A good answer should include specific tools (like Ahrefs, Screaming Frog) and measurable metrics (e.g., backlink domain DA ≥1).
- Watch out for vague claims like “we’ll optimize everything” — what exactly will they optimize? How do you measure it?
- Ask for a monthly plan (e.g., Month 1: fix technical issues, Month 2: content building).
Choosing the right SEO person is really choosing your future.
